MMA is a simple idea. It combines multiple fighting styles and lets the fighters sort out their skills inside a cage.  At first, the product was an aggressive mess, and it was believed that due to the lack of a clean style and direction present, it would fail. Fast forward to today, after two decades of tweaking things, and we have one of the most valuable products in the world of fighting. Modern MMA has a massive following and worldwide popularity, and it's growing by the day. 

 

The Early Days

 

While modern MMA is only a  few decades old, its roots can be traced back to Ancient Greece. For the historians of the sport, the beginnings of MMA can be found in Pankration, a hand-to-hand combat devised by Greeks roughly translated as "all powers." The sport was so popular that it was a part of the Greek Olympiad. Pankration is a unique combo of kicking, punches, wrestling, and various forms of holds and chokes. Most of these techniques were later reinvented through the sports of catch wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. In the Far East, the Chinese military is developing what's known as Shuai Jiao, combining Kung Fu and wrestling. So, as you can see, MMA is an ancient concept made famous by introducing television, PPVs, and later on, the internet and sports betting. 

 

The Rise of the Modern MMA

 

Moving quickly from ancient Greece and China, the traces of modern MMA can be found in the 20th century in Japan and Brazil. Mitsuyo Maeda, a judoka, took his skills to South America and introduced the sport to the Gracie family. The Brazilians took things further and changed the primary aspects of Judo from throws to prolonged grappling exchanges. They made the sport efficient and practical, allowing the downed opponent to come out victorious. 

 

What was to become Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu received global attention due to the Gracie family challenge. They believe that no other fighting technique comes close to it and have called fighters from all over the world to try and test their skills and techniques against BJJ. Many have tried and failed because they are not familiar with grappling and submission. 

 

As we already mentioned, another often overlooked aspect of MMA's popularity was television. TV fighters such as Bruce Lee and his movies Enter The Dragon, for example, helped bring martial arts closer to a broader audience. These movies showed us how it would appear to see style vs. Style fights, which helped establish MMA as a sport later on. 

 

The first organization tied to MMA promotion was Shooto, founded in 1985 in Japan. While Shooto did well in setting the foundations, the MMA as we know it today was only possible with the Gracie Family and UFC, which held its first event on November 12th, 1993. The first iterations of the competition will be remembered as having no established set of rules, lack of safety regulations, and the domination of one man and one style. 

 

BBJ & Early UFC Dominance 

 

The pioneers and first established champions of the UFC were Royce Gracie and his brother Rickson. They came to the US from Rio with a mission to show the world just how dominant BJJ is. They achieved their mission, as Gracie won all of his first 11 bouts. From 1993 to 1995, it was evident just how important BJJ was for the UFC and the newly established world of MMA. 

 

The late 90s brought more changes, which were evident with the rise of Tito Ortiz. He paired his excellent wrestling with submission defense and striking, making one of the best skill combinations in the early UFC and becoming everyone's favorite betting choice. The combination of wrestling skills of taking an opponent down and then finishing him with strikes is what's known today as ground and pound. 

 

Later on, we got fighters such as Chuck Liddell, who were masters of defensive wrestling but successfully added boxing and kickboxing to their style, becoming dominant in the process and establishing a long reign of wrestling and BJJ in the MMA. As time passed, we saw styles change drastically depending on the era, with ultimate skill fighters such as Anderson Silva and George St. Pierre successfully combining Wrestling, Muay Thai, Boxing, Karate, and BJJ into one successful mix. 

 

Rules, Popularity & The MMA of Today

 

During the 1990s, MMA and UFC were almost banned from the United States due to a lack of rules and regulations. Once the product became too bloody for television, the rules were implemented. MMA judges and weight classes were introduced, too, and we got the tight-up product we have today with a boxing point system and time limits on rounds. 

 

The true revolution of the sport and the UFC as the leading company in the domain started in 2000 when Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, together with their business partner Dana White, bought the UFC. Strict regulations that followed put the sport back on TV, and UFC's revenue started to be measured in millions on a yearly basis. 

 

Today, the sport is seen through its biggest promotion, the UFC. All the best fighters want to fight for Dana White, and the UFC undoubtedly puts the best products out there. With the influx of money from sponsors for both the company and the fighters, today's UFC fighters are all superstars in name. With a massive MMA event being on schedule almost monthly, we can see and bet on our favorite fighters all year. So, what are you waiting for? Place bets on the next MMA fight now!